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Having Wrong View

Iti 70 · Micchādiṭṭhikasutta

Gentle ripples across a mountain lake reflecting green hills and clouds.

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mendicants, I’ve seen beings who engaged in misconduct by body, speech, and mind, who denounced the noble ones, who had wrong views and acted accordingly. At the breaking up of the body, after death, they were reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell.

Now, I don’t say this because I’ve heard it from some other ascetic or brahmin. I only say it because I’ve known, seen, and realized it for myself.”

The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:

“When the mind has been misdirected, and words wrongly spoken, and wrong bodily deeds have been done, an individual here

unlearned, doer of bad deeds, though their life may be short, when their body breaks up, that witless person is reborn in hell.”

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

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Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.